Automatic towel flattening device



June 4, 1963 w. A. BEAUDRY ETAL 3,092,271

AUTOMATIC TOWEL FLTTENING DEVICE Filed Aug. l5, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 1w. A. BEAUDRY ETAL 3,092,271

AUTOMATIC TOWEL FLATTENING DEVICE l June 4, 1963 'Filed Aug. 13, 1959 12Sheets-Sheet 2 Z'QT 1' June 4, 1963 w. A. BEAUDRY ETAL 3,092,271

AUTOMATIC TOWEL FLATTENING DEVICE Filed Aug'. 13, 1959 l2 SheetsdSheet 3June 4, 1963 w. A. BEAUDRY ETAL 3,092,271

AUTOMATIC TOWEL FLATTENING DEVICE Filed Aug. 13, 1959 12 sheets-sheet 4,

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AUTOMATIC TOWEL FLATTENING DEVICE Filed ug. l5, 1959 12 Sheets-Sheet 6June 4, 1963 w. A. BEAUDRY ETAL 3,092,271

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United States Patent O 3,092,271 AUTGMATIC TOWEL FLATTENING DEVICEWalter A. Beaudry and Erwin P. Pollitt, Chicago, and

Roy E. Smith, Villa Park, Ill., assignors, by mesne .as-

signments, to F. W. Means & Company, a corporatlon of Illinois FiledAug. 13, 1959, Ser. No. 833,539 4 Claims. (Cl. 214-152) The presentinvention relates to a method and apparatus for flattening towels or thelike.

While the present invention will have application in diverse fields, thehereinafter described embodiments are for use in the towel supplyindustry. After the towels have been brought back from the user,laundered and dried, the first step that must be performed beforereturning the towels to the user is to extract the individual towelsfrom the group of which they were a part during the laundering anddrying process. The towels may be merely stacked in neat regular pilesbefore return; they may be folded and then stacked; or they may beironed, folded and/or stacked. Each of these subsequent alternatives maybe performed by automatic machinery, but for that automatic machinery tofunction satisfactorily, it is necessary that each towel be extractedindividually from the group in which it was washed and dried, and thetowel flattened so as to be received in regular order by the automaticmachinery of whichever of the following processing steps is to beperformed. If the towel is laid ou-t at ou a conveyor, in apredetermined orientation, the following automatic machinery has noparticular problem in performing its function whether it be stacking,folding and/ or ironing.

Traditionally this step of extracting each towel from the group withinwhich it was washed and flattening it out to feed an ironing or foldingapparatus, etc., has been a hand operation. Obviously such a handoperation is expensive as compared to what the cost would be were theoperation to be performed by apparatus. It will be rather apparent thatwithout human vision and judgment it becomes rather difficult to reachinto a tangled pile of items such as towels, handkerchiefs, etc., graspone, and only one, and thereafter orient the towel in a predeterminedposition. The principal object of the present invention is to provide amethod whereby such operation may be performed automatically and toprovide automatic apparatus for performing the operation.

In the process we have devised, a towel or other similar object in thennoriented mass of similar objects is extracted from the mass. r[hepoint at which it is seized for extraction is a random point. A grip isthen obtained on one corner of the towel. In the embodiments hereindescribed the grip on this corner is obtained by reason of Ithe factthat one corner of the towel will normally extend a farther distancefrom the random point of seizure than will the remaining three corners.Only in the very exceptional case, where the point of seizure issubstantially at the center of the towel or midway be- Itween at leasttwo corners, will more than one corner be substantially the samedistance from the point of seizure. By encircling the towel and movingthe plane of encirclement away from the point of seizure the cornerfarthermost from the point of seizure may be found. Having grasped thetowel at one corner, the diagonally opposite corner of the towel is thengrasped. This diagonally opposite corner is determined by reason of thefact that that corner will be the greatest distance from the corneroriginally grasped than will any of the two remaining corners. Again thetowel is encircled and the rst corner grasped moved away from the planeof encirclement to ascertain the diagonally opposite corner.

HCC

The towel then is supported by the two corners that have been graspedwi-th the corners being spaced Sulliciently apart that the portion ofthe towel therebetween is substantially taut. With the two graspedcorners held in a generally horizontal plane there will be twotriangular portions of the towel hanging down at each side of the linebetween the two grasped corners. The two triangular portions are thenengaged and moved into a common horizontal plane. Upon the completion ofthese steps the towel will be generally flat in that horizontal planeand will have a predetermined orientation xed by the initial alignmentof the two corners originally grasped. Tnus, the towel may now -bedeposited upon a conveyor or the like for feeding automatic machinery toiron, fold, etc., the towel.

The foregoing steps of the process all can be performed by hand. Forexample, the flngers of one hand can grasp a towel at random. The towelcan be encircled with the fingers of the other hand and drawntherethrough until it is felt ythat the trailing corner is about toleave the other hand at which time it will be grasped. By encircling thetowel with the first hand the diagonally opposite corner can be located,etc. However, the principal advantage of the process lies in the factthat the same steps can be performed by automatic apparatus. Byeliminating hand labor processing costs and other problems attendan-tthereupon, e.g., absenteeism, are ameliorated or eliminated.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription of specific embodiments taken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation in schematic fon-m of an embodiment of theinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIGURE 1 illustratingan alternative position of the parts;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevation of the embodiment of FIGURE l illustratinga successive step in the process;

FIGURE 4 is a partial side elevation illustrating a further step;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation illustrating a still further step;

FIGURE 6 is an isometric view of the portion of the apparatus of FIGURE1 for grasping the corners of the towel;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken at line 7-7 of FIG- URE 1 FIGURE 8 is a planview of the grasping head of FIGURE 1 illustrating the grasping Webs inthe nongrasping position;

FIGURE 9 is a plan view of the grasping head illustrating the graspingwebs in grasping position;

FIGURE 1G is a section taken at line 10-10 of FIG- URE 9;

FIGURE 111 is an exploded View of the two rings of the grasping head;

FIGURE 12 shows the two rings of FIGURE 11 in assembled position;

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation of a second embodiment of the invention;

FIGURE 14 is a plan view of the embodiment of FIG- URE 13;

FIGURE 15 is an enlarged view of one of the vacuum pickup heads as seenalong line 15-15 of IFIGURE 13 with portions broken away;

FIGURE 16 is a further enlarged view of the end of one of the vacuumpickup heads;

FIGURE 17 is an enlarged elevational view of the vacuum pickup wheelwith portions broken away and illustrating one of the vacuum pickupheads;

FIGURE 18 is an enlarged elevational view of the 3 pairs of grippers andarms therefor as viewed along line 18-18 of IFIGURE 14;

FIGURE 19 is an enlarged view of the cams for the g'rippers and gripperarms;

' IFIGURE 20 is an enlarged partial section as seen along FIGURE 23 isan enlarged plan view of one of the grippers;

FIGURE 24 is a bottom view of the structure' of FIG- URE 23;

i FIGURE 25' is a'plan View of the Vacuum takeo heads;

FIGURE 26 is a side elevation of the vacuum heads of FIGURE 25; FIGURE27 is'a section as viewed along line 27-27 of FIGURE 26; and

FIGURE 28 is a schematic, isometric, View of the driv mechanism for thevacuum heads of FIGURES 25-27.

EMBODIMENT oF FIGURESV 1-12 TheV embodiment illustrated in these guresincludes a frame generally 10, ya vacuum pickup `generally 11, graspingmeans generally 12, a towel atte'ning means generally 13, yand aconveyor generally 14.

The vacuum pickup 11 includes a vacuum tube 16 mounted for verticalmovement in a case 17. Case 17 of course is supported on frame 10. Meansnot shown is provided in case 17 for vertically moving tube 16. Thelower end of tube 16 is open, and connected to the upper end is ailexible hose Y18 which communicates with the hollow interior of tube 16and wtih a suitable `source of vacuum in case 17 lrnrnediatelybelowvacuum pickup 11 is the grasping means generally 12, which includes Vapair of grasping headsl generally 20 and 21. As best seen in FIGURE 6the two heads 20 and 21 `are in vertical alignment. Lower head 21 isfixed tol an L-shaped arm 22 which also is secured to shaft 23. Shaft 23is suitably journaled in a berariing'24 secured to frame 10. Shaft 23 ishollow and rotatably :mounted therein is an inner shaft 25 to whichgrasping head 20A is affixed. AA mounting bracket 26 is secured to innershaft 25 and carries a suitable operating means such as a solenoid orair cylinder 27V which moves plunger 28. Y A

A` similar bracket 30 is secured to arm 22 to mount a solenoid or aircylinder 31 actuating plunger y32. A second bracket 33 is .secured ltoarm 22, vextending in the opposite direction from bracket 30, to mount asolenoid or air cylinder 34V `actuating plunger 35. The outwardlyextending end of plunger 35 is rotatably pinned to Va crank 36 securedto inner shaft 25. I t t t The ystructure of grasping heads 20 and 21 isillustrated in FIGURES 8-l2. EachV comprises an annular shell 38 havinga bottom ange 39. As seen in FIGURE 10, shell 3.8 has an oifsetV forminga groove 37 `along the upper edge thereof to receive-and support a ring40. Ring 40 is'held in place in the, groove 37 in shell 38 by means of aplurality of small locking, plates 41 held in place by screws 42. Ring,40,L thus is secured to shell 3.8 but is rotatable with respect to theshell. Ring lMlvhas an operating bracket 43. On gripping head 2 0bracket 43 is attached to plunger 28, while on gripping head 21 bracket43 is attached to plunger A32 (see FIGURE 6) Flange39tand ring 4 0 eachVhave eight holes therein. Between these holes is stretched an elasticlacing which acts as a gripper. For Vconvenience in describing themanner of'lacing, the holes in the bottom ilange 39 have 4 each `beengiven a number prefaced by the letter B (for bottom las seen inFIGURES-SH12) and the holes in the ring 41') have been prefaced by theletter T (for top). Thus the eight holes in ring 40 are T1, T2, T3, T4,T5, T6, T7 and TQS, whole theholsin flange 37,9 `are designated B1, B2,B3, B4, B5, B6, B7 yand B8. The manner of lacing is bestgillustrated inFIGURES. Thereit will be `seen that starting with hole T1 in ring 40 thelacing is as follows: T1 to`B4; Bdto B5; B5 to T2; T2 to T3; T3 to B6;B6 to B7; B7 to T4; T4 to T5;-T5 to '138; 138 to B1; B1 to T6; T6 to T7;T7 tofB2; B2 to B3; B3 to T8; and T8 to T1. As bracket 43 is moved inthe direction indicated by arrow 44 (FIGURE 8) by plunger 28 or 32, ring40 is rotated with respect to ange'39 so as to move the crosswiselacings toward the center of `shell 38. This closes the space betweenthe lacings and the lacings will grip whatever is between them. Forexample', in FIG- URE 8 as ring 40 is rotated counterclockwise withrespectY to' shellr 38 the lacing between hole T1V and hole B4 willbetelongate'd 4and moved Ytoward the center or axis of the shell 38.

Flattening means 13 includes pairs of wheels 48 to permit it to berolled along frame 10 which forms a track for the wheels. Depending frombody 49 are la pair of brackets 54B to which the pin ofa leaf hinge 51is secured'. Mounted on the opposite sides of leaf hinge'51 are a pairofrvacuum boxes 52 which are hollow'inside and along the inner face haveVacuum ports 53. The hollow interior ofvacuum boxes 52 communicates witha pair of vacuum hoses 54 which lead to a suitable source of vacuum, notshown. A pair of racks 55 are guided for Vertical movementand areconnected 'bylinks 56 to tangles V57 secured to vacuum boxes 52. Racks55 are rn'ovedrvertically by aY Ytrain of gears 5S connected to aVsuitable power source, n'ot shown.

- Operation of Emboiz'met of FIGURES 1-12 In this embodiment towels in apile 62 are picked up one at a time toY be' flattened.V To do thisvacuum tube 16 is lowered through the gripping heads 21 and 22 asillustrated in FIGURE l.V Vacuum' is applied to tube 16 and `as thelowerA end of the tube cornes in contact with a towel, that towelis heldby the vacuum on the lower end of the Vacuum tube. The vacuum tube isthen raised so that the towel 63 on the end ofthe tube is raised towardsthe position illustrated inV FIGURE 2.

As the towel is raised it passes through the light beam immediatelybelow grasping head 20 which light 'beam extends between a light source64 and a photoelectric cell unit 65. t As the lowermost end of the towelpasses out of the light beam the light beam is reestablished between thelight source "64 and the photoelectric cell 65 and the photoelctric cellactuates solenoid 27 to move plunger 28 and rotate ring 40 in thedirection illustrated by yarrow 44 in FIGURE 8. Ring 40 is turned to theposition illustrated in 9 at `which position the lowermost corner of thetowel is grasped by the lacing of gripping head 2G. Thus the lightsource 64 and the -cell 65, `along with thejassocia'ted electricalcontrols, forms a sensing means to determine when a corner of the towelwill be within gripper 20. Unless the towel has been grasped by Vacuumtube 16 about its exact midpoint, one corner of the towel will hang downfarther than will the remaining portions of the towel. It will -be thislowermost corner that will be the last to passthrough the light beam andwhen the light beam is reestablished this one corner will be withingripping head 20. YProvision for rejecting the towel, should more thanone corner be caught in gripping head 20, subsequently will bedescribed.Y Y Y Y t The continued upward movement of Vacuum tube 16pulls the towel from the vacuum tube. Thereafter the vacuum to tube 16is shut olf and air cylinder 31E-is actuated `to rotate inner shaft 25through about 135. This will cause towel 63 to hang down from grippinghead 20 which is holding it. The lowermost corner of the towel 63 willthen hang within gripping head 21 as illustrated in FIGURE 3. If morethan one corner of the towel has been grasped by gripping head 20 thetowel will not hang down sufficiently far to cut the light beam betweenlight source 66 and photoelectric cell mechanism 67. This will signalthat there has been an occurrence of one of the few instances when atowel will be grasped by more than one corner by gripping head 20.Assuming that the usual case has occurred wherein the towel 63 has beengrasped at only one corner by gripping head A21) ythe towel will hangdown and cut the light beam from light source 66 to allow the operationto proceed.

The next operation in the sequence is that solenoid 31 is actuated tomove plunger 32 and close the lacing of gripping head 21 above thelowermost corner of the towel. Shaft 23 is then rotated clockwise adistance of 90 by a suitable power means (not shown) so as to move thegrasping means 12 from the vertical position of FIGURES l3 to thehorizontal position illustrated in FIGURES 4 and 5. As will -be apparentin FIGURE 4, the towel is now grasped at -two diagonally oppositecorners by gripping heads 20 and 21. The line between the two corners isgenerally taut with two triangular portions of the towel hangingdownwardly from that line.

The flattening means 13 now is rolled over the towel 63 so positioned.In doing so the racks 55 have been raised to position the two vacuumboxes 52 in a generally horizontal position. With the raising of racks55, brackets Si) slide upwardly on pin 60 within slot 59 in the brackets56. After moving over the towel as illustrated in FG- URE 4, racks 55are moved downwardly. During the initial portion of that movement thevacuum boxes 52 will remain generally horizontal with brackets. Siisliding downwardly -on pins 6i). When pins 60 reach the upper end ofslot 59 the vacuum boxes 52 will start pivoting on hinge 57 toward eachother. They will then come down on opposite sides of -towel 63. This isillustrated in FIG- URE 5. Vacuum is applied to the vacuum heads 52through hoses 54 and the sides of the towel will be held by ports 53.

Racks 55 are again raised andthe two triangular sides of towel 63 aredrawn away from each other by the spreading movement of vacuum boxes 52.At the same time grippers 29 and 21 are opened so as to release thecorners of the towels that were held by the grippers. When the vacuumbox has reached the horizontal position the fiattening means 13 isrolled to the right over conveyor 14 to the position illustrated in:dotted lines in FiGURE 5. At this time vacuum to the two vacuum boxes52 is shut off and the towel will thereupon fall ilat on conveyor 14. Itwill be readily apparent that the towel will have a predeterminedorient-ation on the conveyor 14 in addition to lying iiat thereon. Theconveyor 14 then can move the towel to the next processing step.

EMBODIMENT OF FIGURES l3-28 The embodiment illustrated in FIGURES 13-28includes a frame generally 75, a feed mechanism generally 76, a vacuumpickup mechanism generally 77, a gripper mechanism generally 78, avacuum takeoi and spreader mechanism generally 79, and power meansgenerally Sii.

Feed M echansm 76 The feed mechanism 76 includes a hopper S2 mounted `onframe 75 into which the towels are transferred as by means of a chute S3`or by such other means as the user may desire. Below hopper 82 is abelt conveyor comprising a belt `84 mounted on rollers I85 and 86.Roller 85 is xed -to a shaft S7 suitably journaled in bearings 88.Roller 86 is similarly attached to a shaft 89 journaled in bearings 90.

Immediately ladjacent the area where belt 84 passes about roller 86 ispositioned a distribution wheel 93. Wheel 93 has a hub 94 which isjournaled on a fixed shaft 95. Shaft 95 is hollow and is connected to asuitable source of vacuum by pipe 96. The end of shaft 95 opposite pipe96 is closed. Shaft 9S is mounted on frame 75 by means of a pair ofblocks 97. Wheel 83 has a plurality of hollow spokes 98 with the hollowinterior thereof extending through hub 94 and also forming openings 99about the periphery of wheel 93. Shaft 95 has cutout-s extending throughthe wall thereof in alignment with spokes 98 with the openings extendingin a clockwise direction in FIGURE 13 from about 6 oclock to about 2oclock on shaft 95. Thus by means of these openings vacuum is appliedthrough pipe 96 and shaft 95 to openings 99 when said yopenings moveclockwise in FIGURE l4 from about the 6 oclock position to about the 2oclock position. From the 2 oclock position to the 6 oclock position thevacuum is shut o so that there is no vacuum being applied to openings99.

To the right of wheel 93 in FIGURES '13 and 14 is a bel-t conveyor 102which is mounted on rollers 193 and 1134. Roller 1134 is attached to ashaft 10S journaled in bearings 106. Similarly roller 1113 is attachedto a shaft 107 journaled in bearings 108. Along the sides of belt 102are a pair of guides 109.

The feed mechanism is driven by a motor 112 having a pulley 113 on theshaft thereof. A right angle gearbox 114 has a pulley @115 on the inputshaft and a pulley 116 on the output shaft. A belt 117 connects pulleys113 and 11S.

An idler shaft 119 is suitably journaled on frame 75 and is driven frompulley i116 by means of a belt 126 which engages a pulley (not shown) onshaft 119. Shaft 119 also carries a second pulley (not shown) whichdrives a belt 121 and in turn drives a pulley 122 secured to wheel 93. Athird pulley (not shown) on shaft 119 drives -a belt 124 which in turndrives a pulley -125 secured to shaft 197. A fourth pulley 1-26 securedto shaft 119 drives a pulley 127 0n shaft 89 by means of a belt 128.

Thus with the energizing of motor i112 the top run of belt 84- is drivenin the direction indicated by arrow 139. Distribution wheel 93 isrotated in the direction indicated by the arrow 131. The top run of belt162 is driven in the direction indicated by the arrow 132.

Vacuum Pickup 77 Vacuum pickup mechanism 77 is illustrated in FIG- URES13-17. It includes -a shaft 135 mounted in support blocks 136. Shaft ishollow and is closed at one end. At the other end a pipe 137 connectsthe hollow interior of shaft 13S with a suitable source of vacuum.Rotatably mounted on shaft 135 is a sleeve 138. Sleeve 13S carries agear 139 and a hub 146.

A cam mounting plate 142 is ixedly mounted on kshaft 135 and carries twocams. Cam 143 is a box cam whose cam track is seen at 144. A facecan1`145 also is secured to cam mounting plate 142.

As best seen in FIGURES `l5 and 17, hub 14d is five sided and has fivepickup arms extending therefrom. Each pickup arm is identical and onlyone will be described. The pickup arms include lan outer tube 143 iixedto hub 14d. Slidably received within outer tube 14S is an inner tube2149. Each of tubes .148 and 149 are hollow with the interior thereofcommunicating with an opening 159 in sleeve 138. At the outer end ofinner tube 149 is a pressure tube 151 which llikewise is hollowthroughout its length. Thus a passageway exists from opening to theouter end Vof tube 151. Shaft 135 has `a slot 152 in ralignment withopening 151?. This slot extends `in a counter clockwise direction fromabout 6:30 oclock to about 2 oclock in FIGURE l7. Thus during thisportion of the travel of each pickup arm, vacuum from pipe 137 isIapplied to the passageway from opening e150 to the end of pressure tube151.

Y ly 211.

Secured to each of the live sides of hub 149` is a cylindrical guide155. Guide 155 is reciprocally received in a guide block 156 secured toinner tube 149. Guide block 156 carries a cam follower 157 which engagesbox cam 143. At the opposite side of guide block 156 from lguide 155 areIa pair of push rods 153. -Push rods 158 Iare reciprocally mounted inguide block 156 as Well as in la second guide block 159 secured to innertube 149. At the upper end of push rods `158 is `a cam mounting block1160. Cam block 166 is secured to each of rods 158 and carries a camfollower 161 which engages cam 5145. Springs 162 about each of push rods153 between guide block 159 and cam mounting block 165 resiliently urgethe cam mounting block 16% away from guide block 159.

At the outer ends of push rods 153 lis a pincer mounting block 164 whichis secured to each of the pushrrods. A pair of pincers 165 land 166 arepivotally .secured to block 164 by bolt 167. At the outer end of each ofpincer y165 and y166 is a projecting finger 168 land 169, respectively.As seen in FIGURE =17, lingers 163` and 169 will extend down over themouth of pressure tube 151 when the pincers are closed. A pinceroperating block 170 is secured toY inner tube 149 in a position toengage the upper ends of pincers 165 `and 166. A spring 17-1 connectsthe upper ends of pincers 165 and 166 so as to urge fingers 2168 and 169towards each other.

A spring 172 about pressure tube 151 resiliently urges the mouth ofpressure tube 151 away from inner tube 149. Means not shown are provided-to prevent pressure tube '151 from extendingV more than a 'givendist-ance out of inner tube 149. Y

Gripper Mechanism 78 The gripper mechanism 78 is illustrated in FIGURES13, =14 and 18-24. Gripper mechanism 7S includes a cam plate 180 securedto yframe 75 by supporting members 181 (FIGURE 14). Cam plate 180 has acam track 182 therein form-ing a box cam (FIGURES 19 yand'20). Aplurality of brackets 183 secured to cam plate 180 support a mountingplate 184. On one side or" mounting plate 184 is a cam l135 for therearward gripper Iand on the opposite side is a cam 1816 for theforeword gripper, as hereinafter described. Cam plate 18d has a seriesof yspokes 187 secured to a hub 18S. Hub `183 is journaled `on a shaft`190.

Shaft 19d is journaled in bearings "191 and. has a gear 192 secured toone end thereof. As bestseen in FIG- URES 1S, 21 and 22, yshaft .i199has a hub i194 secured.

thereto. Mounted on hub 194 are six pairs of gripper lar-ms. One pair isillustrated in 'EiGURES 2l yaudr22. The foreward arm with respect to thedirection of rotation is arm 195 while the rearward arm is arm 196. lThedirection of rotation is indicated by arrow 197. Arm 195 is secured toshaft 198 which is mounted in bearings 199 in hub A194. Arm 196 isattached to a shaft 250 similarly journaled in hub 194. Levers 262 and203 are attached to shafts 198 and 260 respectively. A 2414 is pivotally`connected -to each of levers 292 and 203. Attached to each of arms 195is ya cam follower mounting bracket 255 which carries a cam follower 206riding in cam track 182. Y Y

Y Attached to foreward `arm -195 is a gripper, ygenerally 21),andjattached to gripper arm 196 is a gripper, general- With respect tothe direction of rotation 197, gripper 210 is the foreward gripper andit is the one that will be described in detail. Gripper 211 is a mirrorimage of gripper 210. The structure of the grippers is best'seen inFIGURES 2:1-24.

Gripper 219 includes a generally T-shaped body 212 having a plate 213 atthe end of one arm of the T. The gripper is in a generally scissor formhaving one Iblade 214 fixed -to body 212. The movable blade 215 isattached to a shaft 216 which shaft is rotatably mounted in boss 217 ofbody 212. A rocker 218, likewise is attached to shaft 216. A pair ofpushing solenoids 221i `and 221 are mounted on body 212, each beingconnected to one arm of rocker 218. For example, the armature 222 (FIG-URE 23) has a connecting rod 223 which is pivotally secured to one endof rocker 218 -by pins 2419. A spring 224 connects movable blade 215 andplate 2-13 to normally urge blade 215 against blade 214.

Foreward gripper 210 has a cam follower 227 which is positioned toengage cam i186. Similarly rearward gripper 211 has a cam follower whichis positioned to engage cam 185. Cam follower 227 is rotatably mountedon the stub end 22? of a cocking lever 230. A spring 231 connects stu-bend 229 wi-th the post 232 on plate 213 to normally urge the cockinglever in a clockwise direction as seen in FIGURE 23 ora counterclockwisedirection as seen in FIGURE 24. Stub 229 and cooking lever 230 areattached to a shaft 233 which is suitably journaled in body 212. Alsoattached to shaft 233 is a cocking ann 234. rllhe extending end ofcooking lever 236 is pivot-ally connected to guide rod 235 which guiderod is slida'bly received in a boss 236 of body 212. The opposite end ofguide rod '235 fis'threaded to receive a nut 237 under which is -acushioning Washer 238.

The outer end of fixed blade 214 is supported by an angle brace 242attached to body 212. Adjacent the outer end of iixed blade 214 is arotatable shaft 243.Y The fupper end of shaft 243 has a Ihook-shapedfinger 244 affixed thereto (FIGURE 23). On Ithe lower end of shaft 243 alink 245 is raiiixed to the shaft with the outstanding Vend of the linkhaving a cam follower 246r thereon (FIG- URE 24). Shaft 243 has aneccentrically positioned opening on the lower end thereof into which oneend of spring 247 is hooked. The other end of spring 247 is hooked onthe mounting post 24S for angle brace 242 (see FIGURES 21 and 24). Thuslooking at FIGURE 24, spring 247 urges shaft 243l in a clockwisedirection and holds cam 'follower 246 against cooking larm 234.Co-p'lanar with the linger -is a stop 249 fixed to member 214.

Immediately below shaft 216 and boss 2117 is a second boss 251 in whichis journaled a shaft 252. Attached to `shaft 252 is a clevis 253extending from which is a sensor bar 254. A linger 255 having a `camfollower 256 on one end thereof also is attached -to clevis 253.Follower 256 is positioned -to contact cooking lever 230. A spring 257*engages clevis 253 at one end and plate 213 at the other.

The inward face of fixed blade 214 has a depending flange 260. Theflange is recessed along the outer portion of its bottom edge to receivea downwardly extending plate 261 which is secured to the flange (seeFIG- URES 21 and 24). Plate A261 extends down suflciently far so as tobe in alignment with sensor bar 254 (see FIGURE 2.1). Underneathblade214 and behind flange 260 is a microswitch 262 having an actuating arm263. A pin 264- is slidably received through flange 260l in a positionto contact theend of actuating arm 263. Clevis 253 has an upwardlyextending portion 265 positioned to contact the opposite endof pin 264and actuate the microswitch when the sensor bar 254 is against plateV261.

Microswitch 262 is connected into a circuit with solenoid 220 so as toenergize solenoidY 220 toclose moveable blade 215 againstfixed blade 214when sensor bar 254 moves against platre 26.1. YThe movement is aided byspring 224 which spring will thereafter hold the moveable blade 215against fixed' blade `214.

As has been mentioned gripper 211 is amirror-irnage of gripper 210. Itwill be noted in FIGURE 21 that with respect to the direction ofrotation 197 of the grppers, the sensor bar 254 is on the leading sideof gripper 210 while the moveable blade 215 and nger 244 are on thetrailing side. On gripper 211 the moveable blade, nger and stop are onthe leadingside while the sensor bar is on the trailing side.

Vacuum Takeojj and Spreader Mechanism 79 The vacuum takeoi and spreadermechanism gener-ally 79 is illustrated in FIGURES 13, 14 and 25-28.Suitably journaled on frame 75 are a pair of rotating shafts 275 and276. rIhe shafts are hollow with one end of each shaft being connectedto and communicating with a slip joint 277 while the opposite ends ofeach of shafts 275 and 276 are closed. Pipes 278 leading to a suitablesource of vacuum (not shown) connect to slip joints 277. Shaft 275 has asprocket 279 on the closed end thereof while shaft 276 has a sprocket288. Mounted on shaft 275 are a plurality of vacuum heads 282. Similarlyshaft 276 carries a plurality of vacuum heads 283. Each of Vacuum heads282 and 283 is Ihollow and has a semicircular outer face with aplurality of ports, 284 and 285, respectively, therein. Each vacuum headis secured to its respective shaft by a set screw 286. An opening 287through the wall of shafts 275 and 276 provides communication betweenthe hollow interior of the shafts and interior of Vacuum heads 282 and283 respectively.

On a portion of the frame 75 extending over the vacuum heads arebrackets 389 which support the takeoff mechanism. Except for the factthat one is a mirror image of the other these takeoiiE mechanisms areidentical and the one over vacuum heads 282 will be described. Pivotallymounted on a pin 381 is a cylindrical block 302. Depending from theblock is an arm 393 which extends through an opening in block 362 and isthreaded in the top end to receive a nut 364. Below block 382 is anannular shoulder 385 on arm 383. A spring 386 positioned betweenshoulder 305 and block 382 urges arm 303 downwardly with nut 384 againstthe top of lock 382.

A sleeve 388 on arm 383 provides an anchor for a spring 389 which at itsother end is secured to an adjusting stud 310 in a depending portion ofbracket 368. At the lower end of arm 383 is a cam block 311. Projectingoutwardly from block 311 is a takeoff inger 312. As will be seen fromFIGURES 25 and 26 lingers 312 are positioned between pairs of vacuumheads 282 and 283. A positioning stop 313 is threaded into brackets 388to contact a second arm 314 extending from cylindrical block 302.

On the side of one of the pairs of vacuum heads 282 between whichfingers 312 are positioned is a plate 317. At one end plate 317 titsabout shaft 275. At the other end it carries a cam pin 318 in a positionto contact cam block 311. A slot 319 in plate 317 is positioned toreceive an adjusting screw 320, which screw is threaded into the wall ofVacuum head 282. By releasing adjusting screw 320 plate 317 may be movedrelative to vacnum head 282 to properly position pin 318. When dieproper positioning has been determined screw 329 is tightened to iixplate 317 in that position.

Positioned between pairs of vacuum heads 282 are a plurality of stripperfingers 323 mounted on a cross rod 324. Spacers 325 on rod 324 positionfingers 323. Fingers 323 are pivotable on rod 324 and bear against across rod 326 at one end of the finger. A similar set of stripperfingers 327 are mounted on cross rod 328 between vacuum heads 283.Fingers 327 bear against cross rod 329 and are aligned by spacers 338.

Below vacuum heads 283 is a fixed plate 331 pivotably supported on pins332 with the other end having an adjustment bracket 333. A screw 334 isthreaded into the wall of frame 75 extends through a slot 335 in bracket333. rFhus the rearward end of plate 331 may be raised or lowered withrespect to the path of movement of vacnum heads 283. A belt 337 forminga takeoff conveyor moves about a roller 338 mounted on shaft 339. Shaft339 is suitably journaled in frame 75.

Power Means The power means 88 for driving the flattening device ofFIGURES 13 and 14 is driven by a motor 344. Motor 344 is belt connectedto a variable speed drive 345 which in turn is belt connected to theinput shaft of a right angle drive 346. Right angle drive 346 has outputshafts on both sides thereof. On one of the output shafts is a sprocket347 driving a chain 348 which in turn drives a sprocket 349. Referringto FEGURE 28, sprocket 349 is attached to a shaft 356. Shaft 35i) issuitably journaled into frame 75 and has mounted thereon a gear 351, asprocket 352 and a sheave 353. Sheave 353 drives a belt 354 and a sheave355 mounted on shaft 339. A chain 356 connects sprockets 280 and 352.Gear 351 engages gear 357 on shaft 358. Shaft 358 is suitably journaledin frame 75 and carries a sprocket 359. Sprocket 359 drives sprocket 279through the interconnection of chain 366.

Referring to FIGURE 27 the power means 80 so far described rotatesvacuum heads 283 in the direction indicated by arrow 363. Vacuum heads282 are rotated in the head in the direction indicated by the arrow 364.The top run of belt 337 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow365.

On the other output shaft of gear box 346 is a sprocket 367 which drivesa chain 368 and a sprocket 369 on shaft 378. Shaft 370 is suitablyjournaled in frame 75. Two bevel gears 371 and 372 are attached to shaft378. Gear 371 engages gear 192 on shaft 198. Gear 372 engages a gear 373on shaft 374 which is suitably journaled in frame 75. A gear 375attached to shaft 374 drives gear 139. By the foregoing driveconnections shaft 19t) is rotated so as to move gripers 210 and 21'1 inthe direction indicated by arrow 197, while vacuum pickup heads onsleeve 138 are rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 377.

Operation of Emboa'ment of FIGURES 13-28 In this embodiment the towelsor other objects which are to be flattened and aligned on conveyor belt37 are dumped into hopper 82. A small number of the towels are Withdrawnfrom the hopper 82 by conveyor belt 84 and moved over againstdistribution wheel 93. As wheel 93 rotates some of the towels will coveropenings 99 of the spokes 98 and thus the vacuum being applied to theseopenings will pick up the towels and carry the towels about the top ofwheel 93 with the rotation of that wheel. As such towels get to theopposite side of the wheel 93 they are dropped onto conveyor belt 102when the Vacuum is shut off from the spoke by the valve arrangement onshaft internally of hub 94. Wheel 93 merely acts to space out the towelsso that no large group of them will arrive `at the vacuum pickupmechanism 77 at any one time.

With the rotation of the sleeve 138 and hub 140 of the vacuum pickupmechanism 77, each of the pickup arms will come down towards the towelson belt 102 in the direction indicated by arrow 377. As each armapproaches the position vertically above belt 182, cam track 144 gives adownward movement to cam follower 157 and thus to the tubes of thepickup arm. EFrom the cam track 144 as seen in FIGURE 17 it will beapparent that the pickup arms make what may be described as a peckingmotion at the towels on conveyor belt 102. At this time cam follower 161is not engaged so that spring 162 has moved push rods 15S upwardlybringing the upper portions of pincers 165 and 166 into contact with thepincer opening block 170. Thus the pincers will be open as seen inFIGURE 15.

As the vacuum pickup arm makes the pecking movement just described andcomes into contact with a towel on the top of conveyor belt 182, thevacuum in the tubes 148, 149 and 151 will cause a towel to fasten itselfto the open mouth of tube 151. Since conveyor belt 182 is open mesh, ifno towel is below the mouth of vtube-151 the tube will' ,continueV tomove away from the conveyor belt. The tube 151 is resiliently mounted intube 149 so as to vbring the mouth of tube 151 firmly into' contactVwithY the top of any towels on belt 1612. If there Vshould be more thanone towel under the mouth of tube 151 the ltube will merely slide alittle farther into tube 147 with theV uppermost towel being grasped -bythe vacuum existing at the mouth of tube 151.

As the vacuum pickup head then continues its movement in the directionindicated by arrow 377 with the towel hanging down from the mouth oftube 151, cam follower 161'wil1 come into contact with cam 145. Thiswill push outwardly on cam follower mounting block 160,push rods 158 andpincer mounting block 164. The movement of pincer mounting block 154away from pincer cam block- 170 will permit spring 171 to close pincers165 and 165. As the pincers close fingers 168 and 169 move about themouth of tube 151' to firmly grasp the towel that -was pickedV up by thevacuum applied to the vacuum pickup tubes. The towel so grasped will bemoved upwardly in the direc-tion indicated by arrow of rotation 377.After the pickuparm with the towel so heldhas moved about 7G from thevertical position illustrated in FIGURE 17 it will commence passingbetween a pair of grippers 210 and 211.

At this time the grippers will have been positioned side by side' as-best seen at the rightrhand side of FIGURE 18. The cam followers on thecooking arms, e.g. follower 227 on cooking arm 238, will have engagedtheir respective cam tracks 185 and 186 so as to pivot the lingers back(the position illustrated at 244 inV FIGURE 23) and to move the twosensor bars, eg. 254 in line with the two movable blades, eg. y215,which blades have been opened as illustrated in FIGURES 22-24. Thissetting of the grippers provides an unobstructed space between the two`movable blades, the sensor bars and the stops 249. VIt is .within'thistruncated triangular space that the vacuum pickup arm moves with thetowel. Y

Y' Sleeve 138 is rotating at asomewhat faster speed than is shaft 190.Thus after passing through the space within the grippers the vacuumpickup heads tend to move away from the grippers. However, before theyhave moved too far, cam tracks 185 `and 186 end so as to release thecooking levers, e.g. lever 2311.- This permits the lingers 244 to rotateto the position illustrated in FIGURES 22 and 23 by reason of the pullof spring 247, trapping the towel within the space defined by the curved`finger 244 and the stop 249. At the same time spring 257 pulls sensorbar 254 out from under the movable blade 215 and over towards the xedblade 214. This in addition to being trapped within the space betweenfinger 244 and stop V240,; the towel will be pressed against plate 261by sensor bar 254. As the vacuum pickup continues to move I away fromthe grippers it will pull the towel through the foregoing describedentrapment and particularly the pressure of sensor bar 254 tends to drawout any folds in the towel. Y p

The rearward gripper 211 has its sensor bar at the rearward side of thegripper. As the rearward corner of Ythe towel 388 reaches the positionillustrated at 388:1 in FIG- URE. 18, the rearward corner of the towelpasses from under sensor bar 254 and permits the sensor bar to moveagainst plate 261 `at which time it presses on plunger 264 to actuatemicroswitch 262. This energizes solenoid 220 toA push movable blade 215clockwise in FIGURE 23 to `grasp the towel lbetween movable blade 215Yand Xed blade 214. In the usual case only one corner of the towel willbe trapped. If the towel was grasped by ngers has been so trapped.

At about the time the towel is in the 388e position,

12 pincers andV 16r will be opened. YAt this time the pickup tube Vthatwas liolding'the towels will be about 30 short of the vertically uprightposition.

As the grippers 211i and 211 move approximately tothe switch y252 vongripper 211, is actuated after the arms and V195 have movedV apart adistance less than the diagonal length of the towel this will signifythat more than one corner of the towel was trapped and heldv by gripper211. Controls (not shown) are provided so that when this happens bothgripper 218' `and 211 will be opened and the improperly trapped towelwill be dropped on chute 384 (FIGURES 13 and 14).

However, in the usual case where only one corner of the towel has beengrasped :by blades 214 and 215 of the gripper, all ofthe towel willcontinue to'be threaded through gripper 211?. It will be remembered thaton gripper 210 the sensor bar corresponding to 254 is onrthe leadingside of the gripper, while the blades corresponding to'214 and 215 `areon the trailing side. As the leading edge of the towel is drawn fromunder the sensor bar by a spreading movement of the arms, themicroswitch corresponding to 262 is actuated to move the movable bladeover against the xed blade corresponding to blades 215 and 214respectively. Thus the towel willnow be held by one corner by gripper211 and by the diagonally opposite corner by gripper 218.

As theptowel reaches ,the 386e position of FIGURE 18, it passes betweenthe vacuum Vhea-ds 282 and 283 of the vacuum takeoff and spreadermechanism 79. At this time the vacuum heads will be just approaching theposition illustrated in FIGURE 27. When the towel has just about reachedits centered position between the vacuum Vheads the vacuum heads willVibe rotating in the directions indicated by the arrows 363 and 364 fromthe position illustrated in FIGURE 27. The continued rotation of theheads pivots takeoffV fingers 312 about` pins 301 so that they each moveupwardly and toward each other. 1 The fingers 312 press against oppositesides of the towel to support the towel momentarily yfor transfer fromgrippers 211) and 211 to vacuum heads 282 and 283.

At the moment hngers 312 engage the towel, solenoids 221 `are energizedto push blades 215 away from blades 214 and release the towel from the-grippers 210 and 211.

VAt the same time the continued rotation of vacuum heads 282 and 283will bring more of ports 284 and 285 into contact withthe sides of thetowel. Since cam pins 318 lwill have passed beyond cam blocks 211, thefingers 312 will be permitted to return to the position illustrated inIFIGURE 27 to release the towel. With this release the vacuum heads 282and 283 draw the opposite sides of the towel ydown about and under thevacuum heads. forward moving corner of the towel will be pressed againstbelt 337 by vacuum head 282 with the towel passing under stripperlingers 323. Belt 337 is moving at the same lineal speed as that ofvacuumhead 282. Thus more and more of the towel commencing with theforward corner thereof will be drawn outfonto belt 337.

The rearward corner of the towel will be moved across plate 331 byvacuum head 283. -It will pass under stripper fingers 327 which willrelease the towel Ifrom the vacuum ports 283. As Soon as the slack isdrawn from the middle of the towel all of the towel will be :drawn outonto belt V337 with the leading corner thereof about in Ythe middleofthe belt and aimed in the direction indicated by arrow 365. Thediagonally opposite corners of the towel which were gripped by grippers211B and 211 will be at opposite sides of belt 337 with the linetherebetween TheV 13 being .approximately at right angles to the line oftravel of belt 337. Of course the fourth corner will be about in themiddle of the belt trailing the remainder of the towel.

Subject matter disclosed herein but not claimed is disclosed and claimedin our copending application, Serial No. 137,935, led August 25, 1961.

The foregoing description of specific embodiments is for the purpose ofcomplying with 35 USC 112 and should not be construed as imposingunnecessary limitations upon the appended claims inasmuch asmodifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Forexample, the feed mechanism 76 could be dispensed with or other meansprovided for moving a few towels at a time along belt 102 to a positionunder the vacuum heads on the Vacuum pickup mechanism 77.

Subject matter herein described is claimed in our copendng applicationS.N. 137,935, filed August 25, 1961, entitled, Automatic TowelFlattening Device.

We claim:

1. The method of attening towels or the like of a generally rectangularconguration having four corners, said method including: the steps ofgrasping the towel at a random point therealong; encircling said towel;moving said point relative to said encirclement until the 4rearwardrnostcorner of said towel reaches said encirclement; grasping said corner;grasping the corner diagonally opposite said rearwardmost corner;holding said corners in a generally horizontal plane with the line oftowel between the corners substantially taut whereby the portions of thetowel at each side of said line hang down at each side of said line;engaging said portions of said towel; and moving said portions into a`common plane.

2. The method of attening towels or the like of a generally rectangularconfiguration having four corners, said method including: the steps ofgrasping the towel at a random point therealong; encircling said towel;moving said point relative to said encirclement until the rearwardmostcorner of said towel reaches said encirclement; grasping said corner;drawing said towel away lfrom said corner whereby the farthermost pointof the towel will be the diagonally opposite corner of the towel;grasping said opposite corner; holding said corners generally in ahorizontal plane with the lirie of towel between the cornerssubstantially taut whereby the portions of the towel at each side ofsaid line hang down at each side of said line; engaging said portions ofsaid towel; and moving said portions into a common plane.

3. The method of grasping and orienting a towel or the like of agenerally rectangular conliguration having four corners, said methodincluding: the steps of grasping the towel at a random point therealong;encircling said towel; moving said point relative to said encirclementuntil the rearwardmost corner of said towel reaches said encirclement;grasping said corner; grasping the corner diagonally opposite saidrearwardmost corner; holding said corners apart with the line of thetowel between the corners substantially taut; and extending the othertwo corners of the towel to one side of said line in juxtaposition toeach other.

4. The method of flattening a towel or the like of a generallyrectangular congu'ration having four corners, said method including: thesteps of grasping the towel at a random point therealong; encirclingsaid towel; moving said point relative to said encirclement until therearwardmost corner of said towel reaches said encirclement; graspingsaid corner; grasping the corner diagonally opposite said rearwardmostcorner; holding said corners apart with the line of the towel betweenthe corners substantially taut; extending the other two corners of thetowel to one side of said line in juxtaposition to each other; andseparating said other two corners and moving them into a plane which isparallel to and intersects said line.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,226,659 Collins Dec. 3l, 1940 2,394,692 Isler Feb. 12, 1946 2,447,559Bloemers Aug. 24, 1948 2,464,556 Clark Mar. 15, 1949 2,645,364 HerrckeJuly 14, 1953

1. THE METHOD OF FLATTENING TOWELS OR THE LIKE OF A GENERALLYRECTANGULAR CONFIGURATION HAVING FOUR CORNERS, SAID METHOD INCLUDING:THE STEPS OF GRASPING THE TOWEL AT A RANDOM POINT THEREALONG; ENCIRCLINGSAID TOWEL; MOVING SAID POINT RELATIVE TO SAID ENCIRCLEMENT UNTIL THEREARWARDMOST CORNER OF SAID TOWEL REACHES SAID ENCIRCLEMENT; GRASPINGSAID CORNER; GRASPING THE CORNER DIAGONALLY OPPOSITE SAID REARWARDMOSTCORNER; HOLDING SAID CORNERS IN A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL PLANE WITH THELINE OF TOWEL BETWEEN THE CORNERS SUBSTANTIALLY TAUT WHEREBY THEPORTIONS OF THE TOWEL AT EACH SIDE OF SAID LINE HANG DOWN AT EACH SIDEOF SAID LINE; ENGAGING SAID PORTIONS OF SAID TOWEL; AND MOVING SAIDPORTIONS INTO A COMMON PLANE.